Educational Science

For nearly four years, NASA's Kepler spacecraft whisked through space, surveying our corner of the galaxy. It monitored more than 150,000 stars, looking for planets about the size of Earth that belonged to other solar systems. The mission didn't disappoint; Kepler found countless examples of a type of planet known...

5 reasons hyenas like Harley Quinn's 'Bruce' are amazing

D.C. Comics' manic pixie criminal Harley Quinn gets it: Hyenas are delightful. In the movie Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) (2020, Warner Bros. Pictures), Ms. Quinn (Margot Robbie) acquires some new partners in crime, including a large and very intimidating hyena that she bestows...

Very little is known about how to properly reuse medical masks to fight infectious diseases. No method is confirmed to work. Still, in a report to doctors, which has yet to be peer reviewed, some researchers are beginning to point to the best options for decontaminating used masks. Medical professionals...

More than 100,000 Americans may die from COVID-19, US officials say.

U.S. officials estimate between 100,000 and 240,000 Americans could die from COVID-19, even with the social distancing measures already in place to slow the outbreak's spread. The next couple of weeks will be very, very painful and rough, Trump said today during a White House briefing today (March 31). These...

The equinox reveals one of the secrets of Egypt's iconic Sphinx

The Sphinx had a distinctive astronomical moment with the sun during the spring equinox when, in a shining flourish, the sun set on the shoulder of the half-man, half-lion statue on March 19, according to the Egypt Ministry of Antiquities. This phenomenon happens only twice a year, during the spring...

Super Bowl 2020: All the space-themed commercials

This year's Super Bowl commercials promise to be out of this world. This upcoming Sunday (Feb. 2), a number of cosmic commercials are scheduled to run during the 2020 Super Bowl. From SodaStream to Olay and even Walmart, companies are turning to the stars to promote their products during one...

Cat infected with COVID-19 from owner in Belgium

A domestic cat in Belgium has been infected with COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus that's spreading across the globe, the government's FPS Public Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment announced March 27, according to news reports. This is the first human-to-cat transmission of the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2)....

'Vampire' star sparks brilliant 'super-outburst' while gorging on its neighbor

A vampire dwarf star is sucking the life force from its partner star, and their entanglement produced a rare superoutburst. NASA detailed this previously unknown dwarf nova, a brief eruption from dwarf stars, in a statement on Jan. 24. The system brightened by a factor of 1,600 over less than...

Why is Jerusalem important? A Q&A with historian and author Simon Sebag Montefiore

It is the subject of adulation, divine inspiration and heated controversy, but the history of Jerusalem is as long as it is complex. Considered to be a holy site by Jews, Muslims and Christians alike, the city is thousands of years old and in that time has survived world wars...

COVID-19 might cause loss of smell. Here’s what that could mean.

While brewing your morning coffee, you suddenly realize that you can't smell the freshly ground beans — could you have COVID-19? In the past week, doctors around the world began sharing reports of smell and taste loss in patients with confirmed cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel...